
By Smithy The Sydney Roosters faced all sorts of challenges to win this premiership. Manly threw everything they had at them and still couldn’t crack them. Not that aggressive relentless tackling; not the gritty and determined defence;…

Short and Sweets October 7 Not being at the ground for the GF, I recognise I may have mis-read the following but this is how it came across to me: the match itself was so exciting, one…

by Smithy What to really look for in the BIG GF If SBW plays more minutes in the middle as a lock all bets are off for me! All day in every way he is the standout player….

by Smithy The Second Rowers – these are very real match ups – “mano-a- mano” - but maybe miss-matches? Williams on Horo – right v left – footy hero versus footy horo! I guess no-one will underestimate…

by Smithy The Hookers – These guys unsung? Not by those who matter! Jake Friend and Matt Ballin have so much in common starting with the rock that these teams are built on. Matt Ballin left lower…

By Smithy The Middles – these are two collections of the NRL’s toughest and meanest guys, some with subtle skills and footy smarts too. The Roosters starters Waerea-Hargreaves, Moa and Nuuasala can really carry the ball. They…

by Smithy Maloney and Pearce versus Foran and Cherry-Evans – four great individual competitors but which has the better combination There is not much more I can say about these guys except perhaps the here and now…

By STEVE MASCORD MOST football teams in most big games have a rallying cry. Some of them are positive – doing it for such-and-such – and some are negative – proving the &*$%’s wrong. Often, we don’t…

Short and Sweets October 1 How lost is the west of Sydney when it comes to its sport teams? The debut season of the wonderful Wanderers apart what about the rest! Repeat poor seasons plagued Giants of…